Big Boats, Buyers Hit Boat Show

October 27, 1985|By Tom Stieghorst, Business Writer

When boat builders look at the annual Fort Lauderdale International Boat Show, they see more than brightly striped tents, a pulsing steel band, the crowd at the floating cocktail barge, and a mountain of spicy food.

They see a chance to pad the bottom line, by selling big power boats to a well-heeled group of buyers.

At this year`s show, which begins Thursday, about 630 boating companies will line the docks at Bahia Mar Marina, hoping to catch customers with their particular brand of marine pleasure.

For the past two years, most boat builders have enjoyed double-digit sales increases, and many are looking forward to similar growth this year.

While the show is not the nation`s largest (a February show in Miami Beach draws more than 1,000 exhibitors), it is one of the biggest in-water boat shows, where yachts are bobbing in their native element rather than perched high and dry on a convention floor.

The Fort Lauderdale show, more than most, is a magnet for the upper end of the boat industry`s line. ``You see more big boats here than anywhere in the country,`` says Kaye Pearson, president of Yachting Promotions Inc., which runs the five-day event.

This year, Pearson said two yachts on display will have pricetags in the $5 million range. Dozens of others will be available for the economy-minded boat shopper on a $1 million budget.

In all, about 900 sailboats and power yachts will be docked at this year`s show, by exhibitors who can expect to sell $80 million to $90 million worth of merchandise, according to Pearson.

Fort Lauderdale`s emphasis on big boats reflects the concentration of large motor yachts and other expensive boats in Florida. But industry observers also say that, increasingly, size is where the action is in boatbuilding today.

Production boats -- those built in large numbers for more than one customer, as opposed to custom-built boats -- started growing larger about 10 years ago. For instance, with one exception, the largest production boat built by Hatteras Yacht Co., a leading manufacturer, was 58 feet in 1974, but the company now offers production boats in 60, 61, 64, and 65 feet.

``At one point in time, a 50-foot production boat was certainly the queen of the show,`` recalls Jim Barthold, general manager of the Maryland-based Annapolis Boat Show. ``Now they`re commonplace.``

Custom boat builders followed suit.

``We`ve gone from the 60- to 70-foot boat, which was the norm, to 80s and 90s, and now we`re looking at the 100- to 120-foot boat,`` says Kit Denison, president of Denison Marine Co. of Fort Lauderdale.

Builders of so-called performance boats -- the loud, Miami Vice style racers that reach speeds of more than 60 miles per hour -- notice the same thing. Sonic Boat Co., of Pompano Beach, is topping its 33-foot boat this year with 36-foot and 41-foot models.

Demand is strong for luxury-loaded versions, says Sonic general manager Rita Lukas, who expects strong sales for a $188,000 boat with a stand-up enclosed shower, microwave oven, air conditioning, color TV and a video tape recorder.

But Sonic`s original product, a 21-foot ski boat that retails for $20,000, is a slow mover. ``We don`t sell very many 21s at all,`` says Lukas. ``We don`t even advertise that we have one.``

Why are big boats selling? Boat builders say the economic recovery, lower inflation and the recent personal tax cuts have swelled the ranks of wealthy buyers. ``I just think there are more people that are doing well than there were five years ago,`` says Kim Bradley, vice president of Black Fin Yacht Corp. of Fort Lauderdale.

Others say boat builders have discovered efficiencies in making and marketing larger boats. ``It costs almost as much to build a 44 (foot boat) as a 49,`` says Robert Synhorst, marketing director for Gulfstar Marine, a St. Petersburg sailboat maker. In addition, smaller boat sales swing sharply with changes in the economy. ``In the larger scale, we`re seeing a more stable demand,`` Synhorst says.

But some say more companies are chasing a limited number of upper-income buyers. ``I think it`s starting to get crowded already,`` says Bradley. And builders may be neglecting the potent baby-boom generation, which can`t yet afford a luxury boat but has plenty of disposable income available for less expensive models.

Boating observers see two other important trends:

(BU) Sailboats: Although never as big a market as powerboats, the number of people buying sailboats has dwindled in recent years. About 10,000 sailboats were sold in 1982-83 by the 41 companies belonging to the American Sailing Council. Sales slipped about 5 percent in 1983-84 and plunged 18 percent in the first half of 1984-85, according to George Rounds, secretary of the group, which accounts for about half of all U.S. sailboat makers.